


Forgiveness

by orphan_account



Category: A Hat in Time (Video Game)
Genre: Angst makes you depressed read cute stuff instead, Everybody gets a happy ending, Gen, It isn't really shippy, Just supposed to be a nice one-shot, slight self harm mention though
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-10
Updated: 2018-05-10
Packaged: 2019-05-04 20:21:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,763
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14600964
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: A Queen reunites with her prince.





	Forgiveness

The winds howled outside the manor as a lone traveler pushed through the snow. Their garments stood out against the stark landscape, a bright and cheery red against the cold, unforgiving snow.

A knock on the front door would reveal to them that it wasn’t locked. They sighed, walking inside and carefully removing their shoes before moving through the rest of the house. They knew she was particular about shoes.

Soft footsteps caused the stairs to creak as they moved to the second floor.

“I know you’re in here.”

That voice. They recognized that voice, though it was never as scared or as tired as this. It had come from above, the hidden floor of the house. The entrance to it was so cleverly disguised so that guests would not be able to find it, but those in the royal family could. However, the traveler knew where it was. Time and time again they had been called to tend to them - but the queen had proven to be their most difficult patient thus far.

The hidden wall panel was moved away to reveal the twisting corridors, the places they had been sent for punishment and protection. The sound of chains was obvious now. Quickly, they followed it, careful not to allow their mask slip from their face. It was designed in order to keep the accursed dark energies from the forest out.

There they found her, the queen. She had been chained again, most likely by some other creature who wished vengeance upon her. Maybe her father if he was still alive? Unlikely though, as the humans left behind had become small, weak spirits.

They removed the chains quickly, using a lockpick to take her down from the wall. “I’m so sorry they do this to you…” They whispered, pulling her away from the wall, “If I had been here earlier I would have been able to stop them.”

She said nothing, simply hugging them. The traveler took pity on Vanessa despite knowing the magnitude of her crimes, as she had been equally as scarred. That was no real excuse for what she had done, he was still angry with her after all these years, but he couldn’t just leave her to hurt herself and die.

“Let me check the wounds, alright? I want to make sure they’re healing properly.” He said softly.

Vanessa pulled away the sleeves of the dress she wore, revealing the long thin scratches from her claws. “They still sting.” She said softly.

Carefully, he checked them. Every single scar. There were no infections, but she hadn’t been healing very well.

“Vanessa.” His voice was gentle, “I know that losing them hurts you a lot, but you have to let the scratches heal properly.”

She let out an annoyed grunt of understanding, but he could tell she had no intention of doing such a thing.

He sighed. This would require some attention and possibly an overnight stay.

“Vanessa… you have to stop doing this.”

Once more a noise of annoyance from the queen.

“Please, I want to help you move past this.”

Another grunt.

“Why won’t you listen to me?!”

No response from her.

He sighed, continuing to examine her. She seemed to have been recovering well from losing an eye, but he couldn’t let her stay here alone. He wanted her to recover… but that would only occur if he revealed himself, and his best interest was to stay hidden at the moment. Hopefully there would be a way to heal the forest without him having to come out of hiding.

Once he had checked her over he led Vanessa back downstairs. She had forgotten how to care for herself, so he cared for her instead. He made her sit down at the table and got her something to keep her hands busy with while he cooked her food.

When he had first found Vanessa again, she was obviously hurt and suffering from diseases caused from her diet and several infected wounds. Though he had wished to leave her to starve, he couldn’t hurt her the way she had hurt him. Besides, people could grow and change if treated with love and care.

The soup was done, but still needed time to cool. He usually spent this time trying to re-educate the queen on several basic skills she had forgotten, mainly etiquette and language as those were his strong suits.

“Alright Vanessa, can you tell me what cat is in French?” He asked, a simple smile on his face. He wanted to try and restore her back to the way she was, the kind princess who cared for all she met and was exceptionally skilled in many fields.

Vanessa refused to respond though. She was moping more than usual.

“Hey.. what’s wrong?”

She was silent for a moment, then spoke, “Why do people keep leaving me…?”

He was stunned for a moment. Usually her problems were small things, easily fixed things. Not questions that cut deep into him like this.

“I don’t really know.”

She sighed, staring at the ground, “Everyone I have loved has left me for someone else.”

He wanted so badly to rip off his mask, to reassure her that he wouldn’t leave, but he didn’t want her to scream at him or to throw things. He came back to help her, not because he _loved_ her.

“Soup’s ready,” he stated, going to get the pot. He ladled the warm broth into two bowls, one for her and one for him to have later. Carefully, he placed a spoon in her hand, making sure that she ate properly. Teaching Vanessa how to use eating utensils again was a long and difficult process, but some progress was being made.

Once the meal was finished, he made sure that Vanessa was occupied while he cleaned the house. Though the doctor had other patients, he had to make sure she was safe and wouldn’t be harmed. The rulers of Subcon Forest were directly connected to the environment around them, and if they were hurt parts of the forest would be destroyed.

He was busy dusting when she next approached him, almost frightening the poor doctor. “Vanessa! You nearly gave me a heart attack!” He exclaimed, turning to face her, “What is it? I’m cleaning right now so you’ll have to make it quick.”

She held up a sheet of paper with a few scribbled drawings on it. He had encouraged her to start drawing as a way to improve her motor skills. However, he recognized the subject of her art this time. There was her and also a young man… a man who looked like him. There were hearts doodled near them.

It was almost too much for him.

In all his time caring for her, the ex-prince had never thought she still harbored feelings of love towards him. He thought she had put him in the basement in order to get rid of him without making a public fuss. That’s what it had seemed like at the time. But that was when he was young, young and uneducated in the feelings of those around him.

Vanessa still loved him though, and still remembered him. Maybe that meant she had realized her mistakes to.

“Are you alright dearie?” Her words shook him back to reality.

“No, not really,” he mumbled. There was the feeling of being torn within him. How he wanted to just rip off the mask and hug her again, to be her lover once more. However, she had done terrible things to him with no clear motive, what’s to say she wouldn’t do that again?

Vanessa didn’t seem to notice his turmoil, instead playing with his hair a bit. He clawed fingers moved gently through the doctor’s brown, wavy hair. “Why don’t you ever stay?”

“Because I have other patients to tend to,” he stated, folding up Vanessa’s drawing and putting it in his pocket, “The residents of the forest have troubles to.”

“But what about my troubles?!” Vanessa growled, “You never stay more than a day and never pay any real attention to me! You just make sure I’m busy.”

He sighed, trying to keep his temper in check, “You have a house to stay in, some of them don’t. They’re small and get sick easily. They’ll die out there, Vanessa!”

“Then let them! All they ever do is cause trouble and hurt me!” She cried, “They don’t care about me, just like _him_!”

“MAYBE I WOULD’VE CARED IF YOU DIDN’T STRING ME UP IN THE BASEMENT WITHOUT ANY SORT OF EXPLANATION!” He yelled.

Vanessa’s expression shifted from anger to shock, “M-My prince..? Is that really you?”

“I’m not your prince anymore,” he grumbled, turning away from her. The expression of shock and disbelief on her face hurt him. “The only reason I came back here was for the forest and nothing more. As soon as it’s healed I’m going back to the mountains.”

Vanessa didn’t move. She didn’t speak.

“Go ahead and chain me back up. I know you want to.” He said, “I know that all you want is my company…”

A pause.

“I don’t want to hurt you again.”

She had spoken, her voice a bit strained, “I can’t hurt you again…”

He sighed, “I can’t just make myself forgive you. But we can give this a second try,” he said quietly, turning back towards Vanessa, “I learned a lot in the mountains… especially about how to recover. Forgiveness is one of the most important parts of that.” Slowly he reached out to take her clawed hand in his own.

“I can’t make myself forget the past, but we can grow past this. I know it.”

Vanessa seemed astonished. She fingered his hand slowly, careful not to scratch him. She couldn’t quite see him but he could hear his voice, and that was enough for her to tell that he meant no harm. “I’m not sure why you’re even forgiving me… I locked you up and sickened this entire wood over catching you talking to a random woman! I’m a disgusting filthy mess of a human being-“ she had turned to look at the ground, “-who doesn’t deserve such love.”

“We don’t have to be lovers again. We can just be friends. We were both young and foolish, not knowing any better. We rushed it. This time let’s take it slow, alright?”

Vanessa slowly nodded in response. “I think I’d like that better.”

As the two walked back downstairs, a small plant began to grow from the snow outside the manor.

**Author's Note:**

> Why do I have to do everything myself when it comes to "Vanessa being happy" fic.


End file.
